It was just a traffic ticket, for crying out loud.

But a Texas truck driver apparently took offense at the Lancaster County judicial system Monday morning, threw a punch and ended up in handcuffs on the courtroom floor.

Brent Troy Bartel, 33, of Fort Worth, had just been found guilty by Judge Dennis Reinaker after appealing the $25 ticket he received one year ago for a turning violation when he apparently decided he had enough.

Bartel calmly walked across the courtroom, up to Reinaker's bench, which is a violation of courtroom security rules, according to prosecutors. He laid his driver's license down on the ledge.

"I officially resign as a truck driver," Bartel announced, according to several county employees, "and now I'm about to have a little fun."

A sheriff's deputy approached Bartel, telling him to step away from the judge.

Reinaker, who said he had been doing paperwork and hadn't even noticed Bartel approach, looked up to see the 5-foot-8-inch defendant standing before him.

With the deputy's remark, Bartel turned around, walked over to the policeman who had given him the ticket — Manheim Township Police Sgt. Charles Melhorn — and threw a punch at his face.

Melhorn stepped aside, out of Bartel's reach, and blocked the punch.

Then Melhorn, Assistant District Attorney Ryan Boop, Deputy Sheriff James Nicksic and Chris Reed, a county probation officer, wrestled Bartel to the floor.

But Bartel continued to struggle violently, Reinaker said, until additional deputies came in and finally placed him in handcuffs around 11:30 a.m.

"It was unbelievable," Reinaker said, saying he just sat and watched the drama unfold in front of him.

"The whole time, he was completely calm. Nobody was yelling. It wasn't loud," Reinaker said, but the entire time Bartel was struggling, he continued to talk, "saying he was tired of being treated this way."

Now, in addition to the traffic ticket, Bartel faces charges of aggravated assault on a police officer as well as resisting arrest, brought by county detectives.

He was arraigned before District Judge Richard Simms and was committed to county prison in lieu of $40,000 bail.

Reinaker said it wasn't the first time emotions have taken over in his courtroom since he became a judge in January 2006.

"I've had more than my share of incidents," Reinaker said, recounting one particular case in which a family with five children got "into a melee with sheriff's deputies" and were taken away in custody.

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